He plays the bass like a human voice; she sings like an instrument. They're the heart of several ensembles creating original music that fuses gypsy roots with European classical, improvisational counterpoint, and infectious world rhythms. Their backgrounds couldn't have been more different. Bett Butler grew up in relative ease, her early musical experiences confined to church, school, and talent shows; while by age fourteen, Joël Dilley had endured great loss and was already touring to support his family as a professional musician. They met in San Antonio, when the fledgling jazz singer finally got up the courage to contact the first-call bassist for a gig. Their shared passion for music spilled over into the personal realm, and they married and built a recording studio and indie co-op record label, Dragon Lady Records. Along the way, Dilley toured internationally and played with Willie Nelson, Eddie 'Cleanhead' Vinson, Herb Ellis, Tal Farlow, Arturo Sandoval, Richie Cole, Russian classical/jazz pianist Valery Grokhovsky, and regional symphony orchestras. He was a featured guest bassist on Public Radio International's "Whad'Ya Know," a featured composer on Texas Public Radio's "Classical Spotlight," and a featured soloist on Gemini Ink's "Writers Respond to Art" series at the San Antonio Museum of Art. Compositions from his three critically-acclaimed CDs have been licensed for broadcast and commercial use worldwide, including tracks on HBO, the Food Network, and the Travel Channel. His song "Luz de la Luna" is currently a nominee for Best Song in the Jazz category of the Independent Music Awards. Dilley produced Butler's first album of original music, which won a "recommended" rating from All Music Guide; and her second, which won a performance grant from the San Antonio Artist Foundation and included 'When Love Has Left the Room," first place winner in the Jazz category of the 2006 International Songwriting Competition out of over 10,000 entries worldwide. Butler has also been included in the San Antonio Business Journal's annual list of "Women of Influence in the Arts," chosen by the City of San Antonio Office of Cultural Affairs for artist development training by the Creative Capital Foundation, and featured as the OCA's artist of the month. Earlier this year, she was the inaugural recipient of the Texas Music Coalition's Fred Weiss Memorial Grant for professional development, and she is an inductee into the 2011 San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame.
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